The West Asia or Middle East is having the largest petroleum reserves of the world, which is about 60 per cent of the world’s oil reserves. The total estimated world’s oil reserve in 2008 was 1,243 (109 bbl).

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Table 9.3 indicates the oil reserves and production of the important countries:

Table 9.3 Petroleum reserves and production in the world (2008):

Countries

Reserves

Production

109bbl

109m3

106 bbl/d

m3d

Saudi Arabia

267

42.4

10.2

1,620

Canada

179

28.5

3.3

520

Iran

138

21.9

4.0

640

Iraq

115

18.3

2.1

330

Kuwait

104

16.5

2.6

410

UAE

98

15.6

2.9

460

Venezuela

87

13.8

2.7

430

Russia

60

9.5

9.9

1,570

Libya

41

6.5

1.7

270

Nigeria

36

5.7

2.4

380

Kazakhstan

30

4.8

1.4

220

USA

21

3.3

7.5

1,190

China

16

2.5

3.9

620

Qatar

15

2.4

0.9

140

Algeria

12

1.9

2.2

350

Brazil

12

1.9

2.3

370

Mexico

12

1.9

3.5

560

World Total

1,243

197.6

63.5 10,100

The petroleum-producing countries of the world can be grouped into five geographical regions:

1. West Asia or Middle East Region

2. American Region

3. Russian Region

4. Eastern and South Asian Region

5. African Region

1. West Asia or Middle East Region:

The West Asian region is the largest petroleum-producing region of the world. It also has the largest oil reserves of the world, which is more than 60 per cent of the total world reserves. The main oil-producing countries of this region are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Abu Dhabi, etc. (Figure 9.6)

Saudi Arabia:

The largest oil producer, not only of the Middle East but also of the world and it produces more than 12 per cent of the total world output of oil. The first oil well in Saudi Arabia was started in 1938 at Dammam.

The major oilfields of Saudi Arabia are Ghawar, Abquiaq, Qatif, Dammam, Ain Dar, Abu Hadriya, Kharsaniya, etc. Ghawar is the largest oilfield in the world which spreads over 10,000 sq km area. The crude oil is refined at Ras Tanura and sent through 1, 700 km long pipeline to Sidon for further export.

Iran:

Iran is the second largest oil producer of the Middle East and ranks 4th in the world. It produces about 5.3 per cent of world oil production and its oil reserves are 8.6 per cent of the world. The main oilfields of Iran are Masjid-i-Sulaiman, Najt & Shah, Aghajari, Lali, Bahregan, Eyden & Naftun, Gach Saran, Hajt & Kel, etc.

Kuwait:

Kuwait is having about 8 per cent of oil reserves of the world and produces more than 3 per cent of the world’s total oil production. The oilfields are situated almost over entire Kuwait. The Burghan field is the richest oilfield. The other major oilfields are Mina-al-ahmadi, Wafra, Burgan, Magwa, Sabriya, Mingish, etc.

Iraq:

Iraq has more than 7 per cent of the world reserves of petroleum and ranks 14th in oil production in the world. Major oilfields in Iraq are Kirkuk, Mosul, Daura and Az Zubayr.

United Arab Emirates:

UAE, which is comprised of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, etc., has about 10 per cent of the world reserves. The leading oilfields are Fateh, Bumusa, A1 Bundag, Murban, Bu-hasa, etc.

The other oil producers of the Middle East region are Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

2. American Region:

American petroleum-producing region is having three distinct areas, i.e., (i) North America, (ii) Central America, and (iii) South America.

In North America, USA and Canada are the petroleum-producing countries. On the other hand, Mexico is the major producer of petroleum; while in South America, Venezuela, Brazil, Columbia, Peru and Argentina are the main producers.

United States of America:

USA produces 7.5 per cent oil in the world. It also possesses 5.4 per cent oil reserves of the world. The six important oil-producing regions of USA are:

i. The North-eastern Region:

This is the oldest of the crude oil regions on earth, stretching from Tennessee to New York in the north east. The oil wells are scattered over the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.

ii. The Central Region:

The central oil-bearing region covers the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Missouri.

iii. The South-eastern Gulf Region:

In this region oilfields are located in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida provinces.

iv. The Rocky Mountain Region:

The Rocky Mountain region contains an enormous amount of petroleum reserve. North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico have several small oilfields.

v. The South-western Region:

In the south-western part of the United States, from just the Gulf of California, considerable amount of crude Oil IS extracted from the wells.

vi. The Kuparuk Oilfield in Alaska:

This is a new oilfield where production started in the 1980s. The production from this oilfield is now gaining momentum. It has been estimated that the total reserve of this field may exceed the reserve of even the north-eastern region.

Canada:

Canada is having the second largest oil reserves in the world, after Saudi Arabia. Its estimated reserve of oil is 179 (109 bbl). In terms of production Canada accounts for about 3 per cent of the world’s oil output. The first oil well in Canada was drilled at Leduc near Edmonton in 1947.

It is a surplus oil-producing country and exports some of its production. Alberta province provides three-fourths of its production. The other oil-producing states are Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba.

Mexico:

Mexico produces about 4.8 per cent of the world’s total petroleum. Tampico and Tuxpum are the two oilfields where oil production was started first in year 1901. At one time (in 1930s) Mexican production touched 30 million tons – nearly one-third of the then world’s production.

But, since then, because of depletion and other reasons its production has declined. The other oilfields of Mexico are Tehuantepec in the South and Campeche Sound in the Gulf of Mexico.

Caribbean Countries:

In Central America apart from Mexico, Caribbean countries also have oil reserves and produce limited quantity of oil. Trinidad has proven reserves of over 600 million barrels of oil and sizeable quantities of natural gas.

South America:

In South America, Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Argentina and Chile are the oil-producing countries.

Venezuela is a leading oil-producing country not only of South America but also of the world. In the world its position is 9th and it produces about 4.2 per cent oil of the world and 68 per cent of South America. In terms of oil reserves, it has 3.3 per cent of the world’s total oil reserves. The major oil-producing areas of Venezuela are Maracaibo Bay and Orinoco basin.

Columbia is self-sufficient in oil production. Maracaibo basin and Magdalena valley are the important oil-producing areas.

Peru, Argentina and Chile are also producing limited quantity of petroleum.

3. Russian Region:

In undivided USSR oil production was started as early as in 1870, around the shores of the Caspian Sea. In the 1930s three-quarters of the oil production came from the Baku fields and another 15 per cent from the Grozny and Maikop fields. The new centres have been discovered in Volga and Urals.

Presently, the main oilfields are:

(i) Volga-Caspian Region

(ii) Kamchatka-Sakhalin Region

(iii) Ob-Lena Basin

(iv) Pechora Region

Kazakhstan is having 30 (109 bbl) oil reserves and ranks 11th in the world oil reserve countries. Its annual production was 220 m3d in 2008.

Ukraine is also having petroleum. Much of the oil is extracted from Dnieper basin and Crimean Peninsula.

4. The Eastern and South Asian Region:

China:

In recent years, China has increased its oil production and in 2008, its position in world oil production was 6th. Since 1963 China has been self-sufficient in oil. This was possible due to the discovery of several new oilfields. The Teaching oilfield was discovered in 1958 which went into large-scale production in 1963.

The Chinchou oilfield is also located in the same area. The major oilfields of China are situated at Karamai and Lengue in Sinkiang, Taching or Dakang in Hairlungkiang, Yumen oilfields in north-west Kansu, etc. China has struck an oil bonanza in the north continental shelf of the South China Sea. The reserves may be one of the world’s largest found through seismic surveys over 320,000 sq km of the South China Sea. Oil deposits are also being worked near Zhanjiang in Gulf of Tonkin in Southern Guangdong province.

Japan:

In Japan oilfields are situated in two different areas. These are:

(i) North-Western Honshu Oilfields:

In this area Negate and Akita are important oil-producing centres in north-western Honshu, which produces about 90 per cent of the Japan’s oil.

(ii) Hokkaido Oilfields:

There are several oilfields situated in Hokkaido especially in south-western coastal region. The notable oilfields are Ishihara, Rumoi, Iburi and Atsuma.

However, Japan is deficient in petroleum resources and only about 0.3 per cent of the nation’s entire oil requirement is produced domestically. In other words, Japan depends almost completely on imported crude oil.

Malaysia:

Malaysia is one of the main oil-producing countries of South-East Asia. The petroleum industry is becoming significantly important to the economy of the nation. Four oil strikes have been made of the coast of Peninsular Malaysia, three of Sabah and one of Sarawak. Malaysia used to export petroleum to Japan, Australia, Philippines, Thailand and New Zealand.

Indonesia:

Indonesia is one of the important oil-producing countries of the South-East Asia. Its oilfields are located in Sumatra, Djambi, Periklanan, Balik, Papan, Rantau, etc. Indonesia is an active member of OPEC and exports oil to many countries.

India:

In South Asia, India is a leading oil-producing country. This is possible due to the exploration of the several new oilfields during the last 30 years. The main oil-producing regions are as follows:

North-East Region:

The oldest oilfield in India is located at Digboi field in Assam. Digboi opened up Indian oil production in 1889. After some years, several oil wells were opened up. At present, at least 750 oil wells produce oil in this area. Important amongst these are: (1) Nahar Katia, (2) Moran, (3) Hugrijan, (4) Badarpur, (5) Mashimpur, (6) Patharia, (7) Bappa Pang, (8) Hassa Pang, (9) Paintola, (10) Rudra Sagar, (11) Lakwa, (12) Galeki, (13) Barholla, (14) Anguri, and (15) Ampi.

Western Region:

Bombay High:

Discovered in 1974, situated at 173 km, south-west of Mumbai, it is now considered the largest producer of Indian petroleum.

Other Deposits:

Other notable deposits are:

(1) Cauvery basin,

(2) Godawari basin,

(3) Andaman and Nicobar Islands,

(4) Barmer-Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, etc.

5. African Region:

In Africa only northern region or Sahara and Sub-Sahara region are having oil deposits. The main oil-producing countries of Africa are: Libya, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt.

Libya:

Since the discovery of oil in 1957, Libya became a consistent producer of petroleum. The total oil reserve of Libya is around 3 per cent of global reserve. Bulk of the product is exported to foreign countries. The leading oilfields in Libya are Dahra, Beda and Zelton at Gulf of Sidra.

Algeria:

Algeria is another significant producer of petroleum where much of the national income comes from oil-export. Leading oilfields in Algeria are Edjile, Hassi Messaoud and Hassi R’Mel.

Nigeria:

Niger delta in Nigeria contains enormous amount of oil. Boguma, Okrika and Bonny are the leading producers. It also exports a good amount of crude oil.

Egypt:

Egypt is self-sufficient in oil production. Major oil wells are confined in Ras Matarma and Ras Gharib in Sinai Peninsula.

Apart from the above mentioned petroleum regions/countries, the other oil-producing countries of the world are United Kingdom, Romania, Norway, France, Netherlands, Poland and Germany. All these countries are European countries and produce very limited quantity of petroleum.